Garage door



May 5, 1931.

GARAGE DOOR Filed July 5. 1927 2 SheetS-Sheet l Ill/Il INVENTOR. J R an z W VATTORNEY.

May 5, 1931. F. A. RANTz' 1,8o4,231

GARAGE DOOR Filed July 5, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 y --.L;f---'-----J-- -f--ym TORNEY.

Patentecl May 5, 1931 sta FRANK A. RANTZ, OF ST., PETERSBUBG', FLOR-IDA GARAGE DOOR Application filed July 5, 1927.

This invention relates to garage doors and more particularly to a means for securing the door in either open or closed position.

An important object of the invention is to provide a device of this character for use with swinging garage doors of such construction that the operation of one of the doors will cause simultaneous operation of the other door and the doors will be automatically latched when they reach their open position.

A. further object of the invention is to produce a device of this character which will be extremely simple in its construction and operation, will be very durable and eiflcient in service and which may be readily adjusted to secure the doors in the proper position when opened.

These and other objects I attain by the construction shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention and wherein Figure 1 is a detail sectional view through a bulding, the doors of which are equipped with control mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention showing the arrangement where the doors are to be opened to an equal extent;

Figure 2 is a similar view illustrating the slight changes necessary where the doors are to be unequally opened;

Figure 3 is an enlarg'ed detail sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is aside elevation partially in section of the adjustable stop and latch for checking movement of the door to closed position and holding the same therein;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 `tgenerally designates the door frame of a garage door, to the upper member of which I secure the forward end of a. channel member 11 extending hori- 5 zontally into the garage from the door frame and having its rear end secured to the roof (not herein shown) by a suitable support 12. The channel of the member 11 is downwardly directed and the member 11 is slidably em- 5G braced by a yoke 13, the under face wall 11k Serial No. 203,576.

of which has directed therethrough a bolt 15, the head of which operates in the channel 16 and the shank of which projects below the lower face of the yole and provides a pivot for the inner ends of a. pair of rigid links 17, the outer ends of which are pivotally connected with brackets 18 secured to the doors 19.

It will be obvious that by varying the length of the links 17, the doors 19 which are hinged oo at their outer edges to the frame may be caused to assume a desired open position and both doors may be opened to the same extent or o-ne door opened to a certain degree and the other door opened to a greater or less degree. I

Secured to the channel member adjacent the forward'end thereof is a stop 20 comprising a metal plate secured to the channel member by a bolt 21 direoted therethrough. This same bolt screws to the upper surface of the channel member one leaf 22 of a hinge, the other leaf 23 of which hassecured thereto a plate 24:, the rear end of which is downbent to form a hook 25, the bill of Vwhich normally rests upon the upper surface' of the channel member and the rear face of which forms a cam for engagement by ,the forward end of the yoke 13, so that the yoke may lift the same and pass under the hook to engage the stop 20. When the stop is engaged, the hook willagain fall into engagement with the upper surface of the channel beam and will prevent return movement of the yoke. locking the doors in their open position. To provide a release for this latch, the plate at the opposite side of the hinge from the hook 25 is formed with an operating arm 26 with which may be engaged a flexible element 28 led to any convenient point.

Adjustably secured to the channel member adjacent the rear end thereof is a second stop 27. The stop 27 comprises two plates 28 and 29 connected by bolts 30 passing therethrough at opposite sides of the channel member. Clamped between the upper plate and the base or upper wall of the channel member 11 is one leaf 31 of a hinge, the end of which is hooked, as at 32, to prevent its displacement. The second leaf 83 of the hinge has secured thereto a plate 34 exactly similar to the plate 24, with the exception of the fact that the book 35 thereof has its bill at its forward end and the arm 86 at the opposite end is preferably downturned instead of upturned as is the case with the arm 26. A fleXible elementl 37 is connected to the arm 8G for operation tbereof.

It will be obvious that with a structure of this Character, means are provided for positively limiting' the door in its inovement both to open and closed positions and to lock the door in each of these positions. Since the stops serVe to positively limit movement of the door, the channel member through these stops will take up a great portion of the shock to which the hing'es and stops of the door frame are subjected in the usual roug'h handling' which doors receive. It will also be obvious that a structure of this Character may be both cheaply inanufactured and installed and will be very durable and etlicient in service.

Since the construction hereinbefore set forth is capable of a certain range of change and modification without materially departing from the spirit of the invention, I do not limit myself to such specific structure except as hereinafter claimed.

I claimz- The combination with a horizontal support and a yoke slidable thereupon., of latch means adjustably mounted on said support and adapted for engagement with said `Yoke, said latch comprising a fiXed leaf adjustably mounted on said horizontal support, a. rockable leaf piVota-lly mounted on said fixed leaf, and yoke engaging means mounted on said pivoted 1eaf said yoke engaging means comprising an elongated plate having a reverted forward end portion adapted for engagement With one end of said yoke, an angularly inclined rear portion adapted for engagement with an Operating element.

In testimony whereof I hereunto ax my signature.

FRANK A. RANTZ. 

